I never thought that something like photography would make me change my habits so much and so fast, especially the ones that I used to love, like staying in bed until late during the winter season.

But after coming back home to Berlin following my travels in Japan (‘Tokyo’, part of this collection), I looked forward to the weekends’ early mornings to just grab my camera and wander around the city, not only to keep practicing and improving, but to start shaping the way I wanted to explore photography. It didn’t take long for me to realise that I was drawn to simple, every day life moments. This was one of them.

At that time of the day of a Sunday winter morning, the people that I’d meet the most were the runners. Sometimes in pairs, but mostly by themselves. Just like me, walking around with my camera. There were times that we’d actually meet twice, as they were maybe doing a circuit and I’d pass by them when moving to another location.

To be honest, I was never into running. I did a lot of sports back in the day and I still enjoy doing some when I have the chance (I love swimming and I cycle a lot), but running was never one of them. I could see something here that I could relate though: the passion. The willingness to do what feels good to you and to your mind, like putting your running shoes, pressing play in that favourite playlist and hitting the streets. Replace the running shoes with a camera and a lens, and you get the point.

Despite the sun, in that cold morning at one of my favourite parks in the centre of Berlin, I felt a bond with that person. Not through running, but simply through passion and dedication. As I watched her entering the frame of my camera for a few seconds, it was almost as if we shared the same energy and drive to keep going, to keep exploring and to get better.

Unknown runner, I thank you for that.

January 20th, 10:26:42, 2019. Berlin, Germany.